Tim Tebow said Friday he doesn't feel like anything has been taken from him, and he doesn't want anything to be given to him, either.

"I don't feel like anything was taken from me, and I don't want anything given to me, also," he said. "I want to work for anything that I get, that's for sure. I've always been like that."

Since training camp started more than a week ago, Tebow has been competing, along with Brady Quinn and Adam Weber, with incumbent starting quarterback Kyle Orton for the top spot on the depth chart.

And that's exactly how he would want it.

"Since (Head) Coach (John) Fox got here and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations John) Elway took the job, it's been, 'Compete,'" Tebow said. "You go out there and you practice and you earn your job. That's how it was all along, that's how I took it and that's what I was looking forward to. That's how it's been the whole time."

Kyle Orton said Thursday he feels like he's playing the best football of his career, and he hopes to let his play "speak for itself" as he works with the first-team offense.

Tebow said he didn't have a good practice last Saturday, but he feels he has been consistently better since then.

And while there has been plenty of scrutiny surrounding the Broncos' quarterback competition, the second-year signal caller said he can't concern himself with things outside of his power.

"I learned a long time ago not to worry about what I can't control," he said. "It's not going to help me improve, it's not going to help my game."

Meanwhile, Tebow said he has been spending time working on aspects of his game he feels he needs to improve. During Friday's practice, he threw a handful of touchdowns during team drills, including one of his famed jump passes to David Anderson.

Earlier in the week, he also ran a handful of option plays, and he has shown his running ability occasionally, taking off from the pocket to pick up yards.

"They're just trying to get us ready for whatever we might run in the game.," Tebow said. "Whatever I'm coached to do, I'm going to go out and do it with all my heart. If it's running the option, doing read plays, I'm going to do my best to do it."

There have been plenty of stories about Tebow in the news lately, including criticism from ESPN personality Merril Hoge, to which Tebow responded on Twitter simply, "Hey Merril... 'ppreciate that."

The quarterback said he hears the crticism, but he doesn't let it deter him.

"On one hand, I try to block it out, but on the other I hear it and it motiavates me," he said. "Not that I necessarily need motivation, but I try to use that as fuel. When you feel like being lazy, when you feel like not watching more film, when you feel like not doing something to get better, I try to use that to let it fuel me. Not in any way do I take it as negativity towards myself personally, but to my game. So I want to improve my game and what people are criticizing. If anything, I appreciate it. I really do. Because it will motivate me and fuel me."